Me, Myself, and I: Understanding Identity Denial of Multiethnic and Multiracial People in White Settings

Abstract

How people identify themselves and the reasons behind self-identification are important in understanding the human experience and interactions in social groups. Understanding how people navigate their identity when denied access to multiple identity groups they inherently belong to is equally as important. This is known as “Identity Denial.” Identity denial is a type of social threat to acceptance that occurs when an individual goes unrecognized by a group to which they belong. This typically happens when the individual does not resemble a prototypical member of the group. I theorize that Identity Denial contributes to how multi-ethnic individuals navigate their identity in predominantly white social settings. In this project, I synthesize secondary research focusing on the four main chapters of identity denial, identity switching, negotiation of identity, and belonging in social groups.